CS2: Smokes Guide - Smokes to know on Mirage
Smokes are a crucial part of Counter-Strike as they can help you take over the bomb site on T side much easily as it will block off the defenders’ vision and in higher levels of CS you would need to coordinate with your team to smoke off a whole bombsite cutting off the defenders from any backup.
Mirage was one of the first maps to have no skybox in CS:GO which meant there was no invisible walls to block the grenade trajectories and considering how CS2 has no skyboxes for all the maps, most of the smokes on mirage in Counter-Strike 2 have remained the same however, some of the smoke lineups have been tweaked due to the new networking system or the new smoke behavior.
I have listed some of the best mirage smokes to learn in CS2 which may be easier to execute than the others as some of the smokes that people have found require precise movement and aim in order to land properly.
Other Maps:
I highly recommend practicing the lineups a few times in order to memorize them and make sure that you don’t miss them. You can also take a look at the article regarding practicing grenades and extra commands to help you out with that.
Read More: Counter-Strike 2: Optimal Commands To Practice Grenades
Mirage A Site Smokes
Outside Ramp to Stairs:
The stairs smoke is a really common smoke that most players tend to throw, the smoke lands on top of the stairs outside connector and helps you exit from ramp and palace without being picked off from stairs.
This is pretty much the same smoke as it was in CS:GO. To throw this smoke, you need to jump on the first step of the platform and line yourself up with the edge of the platform. Afterwards, all you just need to do is aim at the middle of the gap between the building and the wooden pillar and left click throw the smoke.
You can use any references that you want to help you with lining it up as it needs to be a bit precise in order for it to land. Usually the players would use the window on the left and the part of the building sticking out as references.
Throw Type: Normal throw
Difficulty: 3/5
Alternate Stairs Smoke:
Another alternate stairs smoke that you can throw without having to blindly lineup.
Stand on the right side of the door as shown in the picture and aim at the right corner of the building as shown and jump throw the smoke. This should smoke off stairs however it would take a bit of time to land.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 2/5
Alternate Stairs Smoke #2:
Another line-up to smoke off stairs, climb up the platform outside T ramp and stand in the middle of the windows as shown below.
Afterwards aim at the little block on the roof and then keep aiming upwards until the small line on the right side of the faction icon is aligned with the block and then just throw the smoke. The smoke will land on the stairs however, this smoke blooms pretty far and anyone can hide in the smoke or underneath it at sandwich.
Throw Type: Normal throw
Difficulty: 2/5
T spawn to Ticket Smoke
The ticket smoke can help you from being shot by snipers or the enemies that are playing a long-range angle. This can also prevent any rotating players to help their teammates that are stuck on the bombsite as the smoke will cut them off from the team.
This is a pretty easy smoke to pull off, all you need to do is just stand on the railing by the metal fence. Make sure that your aim is in the center of the fence. Aim at the small wooden ledge on the corner and jump throw the smoke. You don’t have to be precise with it and just need to aim somewhere towards the right side of it. You can even aim in between the gap of the wood and the wall. It shouldn’t be that hard of a jump throw as you have an audio cue if you do a jump throw. If you’re having trouble with jump throws then take a look at our helpful article here.
The smoke should cover off ticket and even though there are smokes that land on top of the ticket box, the volumetric effect in CS2 achieves the same effect and the only way the enemies can see is if they jump all the way to the top of the booth which would fully expose them.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 2/5
Alternate Ticket Smoke:
Another way to smoke off ticket however, if done properly then the smoke can land on top of the ticket box which would block off a greater amount of vision of the enemy team behind the ticket booth.
Stand at the middle of the corner of the wall as shown in the picture. Aim near the center of the wooden plank on the A site and jump throw the smoke.
This would require some practice with lining it up so that it lands on top of the box every time.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 2/5
Jungle Smoke
The jungle smoke is pretty much the same as it was in CS:GO. The smoke helps in crossing over to the bombsite without being picked from people in jungle or connector, combining the smoke with the stair smoke blocks off that part of the bomb site and if you throw the stairs, jungle and ticket smoke along with your teammates you can just block off the whole site. This cuts off the players that are defending the bombsite from their teammates and can make it much easier to take control of the A bomb site.
There are different variations and lineups for this smoke. I will explain two of these lineups below:
Make your way up the platform from T spawn and stand near the first window near ramp. Keep in mind to make sure that there are no CTs pushing. Align yourself with the dark spot as shown in the 2nd picture, do a 180 turn and aim at the top right of the small block and throw the smoke.
Throw Type: Normal throw
Difficulty: 3/5
Another common lineup is standing in the middle of both windows and aiming a bit to the left of the pillar as shown in the second image. It should land on the same position as the above one. It doesn’t really need to be at the exact same position, it just needs to below the top of the pillar and to the left of it so that it lands in the middle.
Throw Type: Normal throw
Difficulty: 1/5
Mirage Mid Smokes
Window Smoke
The window smoke is one of the most important smoke on Mirage as it allows you to take control of mid easily. Having mid control obviously helps as you can wrap around a bombsite from additional areas as well as rotating to the other site if needed. You can also cut off rotators leaving the enemies on the site to fend off for themselves.
There are numerous variations of the window smoke that existed in CS:GO and it’s the same for CS2 as well. However, most of the CS2 mirage window smokes that I found were pretty hard to pull off unless you are a high skilled player as it involved jump throwing the smoke while strafing. I have found a couple of easier mirage window smokes that may help.
The first one is similar to the others, you stand by the trash can in T spawn. Aim at the center of the white door frame that aligns with the railing and jump throw the smoke.
You would need to practice the smoke a few times to figure out where to aim but, it is much easier as you do not need to move and jump throw at the same time as some of the other window smokes.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 4/5
Window Smoke #2
This is much easier smoke to actually line up however, it does require some technique as you need to strafe jump in order for it to land.
First off, stand in front of the trash can in T spawn; positioning yourself with the wall on the right.
Place your crosshair near the left end of the white outline on the wall as show in the image, you can easily line it up with the dark spot next to it by aiming at the top of that dark bar and then aiming to the left.
Once you are lined up, you need to hold D and then jump throw. This should have the smoke land in window consistently after a bit of practice.
Throw Type: Strafing Jump throw
Difficulty: 3/5
Window Smoke #3
This is an another alternate window smoke you can do but it takes more time to perform so if you’re playing with random people then they may not wait for it to land before peeking mid.
In order to throw this smoke, you need to line up with the first wooden pillar of the scaffolding. Look at the right section of the corner of the wall and aim at the bottom right section of the wires and jump throw the smoke. Once you practice it, it becomes much easier to throw it but takes longer time to throw it at the start of the round so make sure to communicate with the team if you go for this smoke.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 4/5
Top Mid Smoke
This is one of the most easiest smoke that pretty much every Mirage player knows. The top mid smoke allows you to safely cross over from T spawn to the boxes at mid without being picked off.
In order to throw the smoke, you just jump on top of the trash can in T spawn, aim at the top right part of the antenna and just left click throw the smoke. You can do this fairly quickly and it should bloom before any of your teammates reach middle unless you had a bad spawn. Be sure to communicate with them and let them know to cross once the smoke has landed.
Throw Type: Normal throw
Difficulty: 1/5
Short Smoke
This smoke is to help if you’re going from mid to A or doing an A split, this will help you avoid being shot from catwalk. The smoke is just a simple jump throw and doesn’t require much precision.
In order to throw this smoke, stand on the corner of the wall opposite of the trash can in T spawn. Aim at the top left corner of the window and jump throw the smoke. The smoke should land on short and allow you to safely go from mid to window or connector once you have dealt with the defenders holding it.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 1/5
Connector Smoke
The connector smoke can help in taking mid control as it will help you from looking at multiple angles when coming out from spawn to mid.
In order to throw this smoke, stand in the corner near the stairs to the T apartments and look at the rug to your right. Jump throw the smoke while aiming at the center of the white line on the rug. The smoke should land inside the connector however, while testing I did notice that due to the volumetric effect of the smokes there may be a gap at certain points of the smokes duration where the CTs may be able to spot you when crossing to mid boxes or short.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 3/5
Mirage B Site Smokes
B Market Window Smoke
A common smoke for taking the B site. This helps in blocking off any awpers watching the apartments from the window in market/kitchen (depending on what you call it).
The smoke is rather easy to pull off, you stand in the corner of the end of the hallway of the T apps as shown. Aim at the corner of the tower and simply jump throw the smoke. It will land at the window of market and block off the vision of anyone watching the B apps from there. Make sure to keep an eye on the smoke if anyone tries to push the smoke.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 1/5
Market Door Smoke
This is almost similar to the market window smoke but it blocks off the door instead. It has the same positioning and all you need to change is the lineup. When combined with the market window smoke, this will stop any rotators or the defenders in market to actually rotate and help their teammates out.
Stand beside the corner as in the previous smoke and all you need to do is aim at the center of the most right window of the tower and jump throw the smoke.
As both smokes can be thrown from the same position you can ask a teammate to drop you a smoke in the spot so you can quickly throw both smokes while standing in the same position. This however does require some communication beforehand which may be a little hard in the lower ranks.
Throw Type: Jump throw
Difficulty: 1/5
Bench Smoke
The smoke can be helpful for a classic rush B strat or when you need to get on site much easily. However, it requires you to be at the front or ask your team to wait or play contact so the smoke can land before they arrive at the site. This will block off the vision of the person playing from bench or jail.
The smoke is pretty easy to land, you walk up to the second wooden pillar near the entrance of B apartments and aim near the ridge of the tower and simply throw the smoke. Make sure not to aim too much to the left otherwise it would bounce off the tower.
Throw Type: Normal throw
Difficulty: 1/5
Short Arch Smoke
This is a helpful smoke if you’re going for a B split as it can help your teammates that are pushing from mid. The smoke will prevent them from being shot at from bench or from site, allowing them to move up much closer.
To throw the smoke, get on top of the trash bags that are next to underpass and hug the corner of the wall, aim at the center of the part where the rug is rolled up that is above you and simply left click throw the smoke.
This smoke blocks off vision of the people on bench and on the B site itself so it helps the people pushing up from short to move in easily. The only position they need to be wary of is van and balcony. These positions should be dealt with the teammates that are pushing up from apartments allowing the mid players a safe route.
Throw Type: Normal throw
Difficulty: 1/5
